Stereophonic speaker arrangement for a phonograph



- I 7, c.-w. CHRISTIE 3,416,804

7 STEREQPHONIC SPEAKER ARRANGEMENT FOR A PHONOGRAPH Original Filed Oct.30. 1963 :s Sheets-Sheet 1 mvsmon: .CORNELIUS w. CHRISTIE,

HIS ATTORNEY.

C. W. CHRISTIE STEREOPHONIC SPEAKER ARRANGEMENT FOR A PHONOGRAPHOriginal Filed'oct. 30. 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 x VOLUME LEFT vowug menrrpns usrzu swrrcn PHMO ED PILLOW INVENTOR CORNELIUS W. CHRISTIE, BY Ma.my

HIS ATTORNE Y.

Dec. 17, 1968 c. w.- CHRISTIE 3,415,304

STEREOPHONIC SPEAKER ARRANGEMENT FOR A PHONOGRAPH Original Filed on. so.1963 s Sheet heet s INVENTOR; CORNELIUS w. CHRISTIE,

' HIS ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,416,804 STEREOPHONIC SPEAKER ARRANGEMENT FOR APHONOGRAPH Cornelius W. Christie, Norristown, Pa., assignor to GeneralElectric Company, a corporation of New York Continuation of applicationSer. No. 320,206, Oct. 30,

1963. This application June 10, 1966, Ser. No. 562,050 3 Claims. (Cl.274-2) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a stereophonic device, a cushionand a plurality of loudspeakers are provided, the loudspeakers beingenclosed and positioned within the cushion in such a manner as toprovide a stereophonic sound effect to a person whose ears are placed inproximity to the speakers.

This invention relates to an improved stereophonic speaker arrangement,and more particularly to a stereophon ic speaker arrangement for aphonograph, which arrangement includes a plurality of speakers enclosedand arranged within a pillow.

The present application is a continuation of my copending applicationSer. No. 3205206, filed Oct. 30, 1963, for Stereophonic SpeakerArrangement for a Phonograph, now abandoned.

One form of high fidelity sound reproduction which has met withwidespread acclaim is the stereophonic type of sound reproduction. Toeffect this type of sound reproduction, it is important that the systemshould include two or more loudspeakers which are spacially arranged insuch a manner as to provide the audio impression to the listener thatthe sound emanates from two or more directions. For obtaining thedesired stereophonic audio effect, most speaker systems of the prior arthave, in general required the use of relatively expensive speakerenclosures. An important object of the present invention is to providean improved stereophonic loudspeaker arrangement which includes aneconomical and versatile speaker enclosure.

Another object of my invention is to obtain an improved stereophonicloudspeaker arrangement which includes a speaker enclosure of extremelylight weight and of an ornamental nature.

An additional object of my invention is to provide an improved homefurnishing which encloses a plurality of loudspeakers to form anintegral part of a stereophonic loudspeaker system.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved phonographunit which includes a stereophonic loudspeaker system that comprises aspeaker enclosure also usable as a cushion means.

In carrying out my invention, in one form thereof, I provide aphonograph which includes a stereophonic speaker arrangement. Thisspeaker arrangement comprises a pillow means for comfortablyaccommodating the head of person who might desire to repose thereupon. Aplurality of speakers are encased in the pillow and spaced apart thereinto stereophonically reproduce sound to the left and right ears of aperson whose head is reposing on said pillow means. By arranging thespeakers in the pillow means, a versatile and low cost stereophonicspeaker enclosure is thereby achieved. Such a speaker arrangement mayalso be of extremely light weight and readily transportable.

Further aspects of my invention will become apparent hereinafter, andthe specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which I regard as my invention.The invention, however, as to organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages thereof, may

best be understood by reference to the following description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an improved portable phonograph unitembodying one form of my invention, the phonograph being shown ready foroperation;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the phonograph unit of FIG. 1, with theturntable and speaker arrangement completely encased in the housing;

FIG. 3 is a right end view of the phonograph as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the phonograph unit shown in FIG.1, with part of the cover and speaker enclosure broken away to show oneof the speakers in full, the other speaker being represented by dottedlines;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective fragmentary view showing the interiorconstruction of the loudspeaker enclosure for the phonograph unit;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the retainingarrangement in the housing cover for the pillow; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a female person reposing her headupon a loudspeaker enclosure embodying my invention, the loudspeakersystem being shown connected to the phonograph unit.

Referring first to FIG. 2, as shown therein I have provided a portablephonograph unit 11 comprising a housing cover 13 and body 15 whichcooperate to provide a protective enclosure 16 for a record player 17, adual channel amplifier (not shown), and a speaker enclosure 19. Theconstruct-ion and arrangement of the speaker enclosure 19 forms animportant aspect of the present invention, as shall become apparenthereinafter.

The housing body 15, as shown in FIG. 1, has a generally rectangular,box-shaped configuration, and it is recessed to receive theaforementioned dual channel amplifier as well as the underlying part(not shown) of record player 17. On the open side 21 of the housing body15 there is arranged in horizontal fashion (viewing FIG. 1) a panel 23.Above panel 23 near the right side thereof (viewing FIG. 1) are mountedsuitable controlling knobs 25 for operating the dual channel amplifier.Near the center of panel 23 and located nearer to the left side than tothe right side thereof (view-ing FIG. 1) there is formed a rectangularslot 27. Within slot 27 there is mounted the record player 17.

The record player 17 comprises a record player frame 24 mounted on panel23, and a turntable 26 carried on frame 24. For centering records andpositioning them in the desired relationship with turntable 26, aspindle 28 extends upwardly from turntable 26 and projects outwardlyfrom. the open side 21 of the lowermost housing body 15.

The record player '17 shown is an automatic record changer type, andemploys a record balancing arm 29. The arm 29 is arranged in generalparallel to the turntable 26, and it is carried by attachment of itsrear end 33 to a vertical post member (not shown). This vertical postmember is rotatably journalled in upright 35 and may be raised andlowered, in the usual fashion. The balancing arm 29 is thus arranged onthe record player 17 so that it may be raised and lowered, and isswingable sideways from its raised position for loading records upon thespindie 28. More particularly, for loading records on the spindIe 28,the balancing arm 29 may be raised and swung angularly from a positionwherein its free end generally overlies the spindle 28 (as shown inFIG. 1) to a position wherein its free end is adjacent to but spacedlaterally outwardly from the periphery of a record which is to beloaded. The balancing arm 29 may then be located in a detented positionto allow clearance for a record to be loaded upon spindle 28.

A tone arm 39 is located alongside of and above turntable 26, and isprovided with a pivotal support near its rear end 41, in a well knownmanner, The arm 39 is pivotally supported so that vertical andhorizontal movement is permitted and a pickup stylus or needle 40 (FIG.3) located at the free end 43 of the arm can engage and reproduce soundsignals from the groove of a phonograph record placed on the turntable26.

From viewing FIG. 2 it will be noted that the spindle 28, overarm 29 andtone arm 39 each are located substantially above the open end 21 of thesecond housing portion 15.

To enable the phonograph unit 11 to efficiently provide a stereophonicsound effect, in accordance with an important aspect of my invention,the speaker enclosure 19 (FIG. 1) is that type of home furnishinggenerally known as a pillow. More particularly, as shown by viewing bothof FIGS. 4 and 5, the speaker enclosure 19 includes a generallyrectangular pillow covering 55 (FIG. 4), a composite body 57 (FIG. ofsoft pliable stufling, and a pair of loudspeakers 59 and 61 positionedwithin associated cavities 69 and 71 of the composite body 57.

The pillow covering 55 may be made from a readily washable fabric whichis of a somewhat durable nature, such as for example corduroy, and itmay be suitably colored so that the enclosure 19 attractivelycomplements the color scheme of the furnishings in one or more rooms ofa home. In addition the covering 55 is slightly larger than and conformsin general to the external shape of the composite stuffing body 57.

Body 57 may be made from a spongy synthetic material such aspolyurethane, and it includes a main section 73 with spaced apartrectangular openings 79 and 81 formed therethrough, a flat rear slab 83of generally uniform thickness, and a pair of inserts 89 nd 91 which fitinto the front of each of the respective openings 79 and 81 to fabricatea front wall for the composite body 57.

To enable the cover 13 of the phonograph housing enclosure 16 toeffectively accommodate the spindle 28, record balancing arm 29 and tonearm 39 (FIG. 1) while at the same time enclosing and positioning thepair of speakers 59 and 61, the front face 93 of the main section 73 ofthe pillow body has a shallow V-shaped configuration, as shown in FIG.5. Thus, as further shown by the perspective view of FIG. 5, the frontface 93 includes right and left halves 93a and 93b which are angled at aseam 95 so that they face in convergent directions toward the recordplayer 17 (see also FIG. 4). The seam 95 is paral lel to rectangularlyconfigured end walls 97 of the body 57, so that each of the front facehalves 93a and 93b has a rectangular configuration. It will also thus beseen that the main section 73 has a gradually and uniformly diminishingthickness between its end walls 97 and seam 95.

The top, bottom and side walls of each of the openings 79 and 81 in mainsection 73 are of generally square boxshaped relative arrangement, andeach of these walls is perpendicular to one of the front face halves 93aor 93b. In addition, the walls of each of the openings 79 and 81 arecross sectionally dimensioned to receive a square shaped slab 99 ofrigid material, upon which an associated speaker is mounted. As shown inFIG. 5, each of the slabs 99 serves to support and protect itsassociated speaker, such as speaker 59. Each of the slabs 99 is alsoappropriately apertured to allow sound to emanate therefrom.

Each of the individual speaker units 59 and 61 is mounted in itsassociated opening 79 or 81 of the pillow body 73 in the mannerindicated for speaker 59 in FIG. 4. Preferably, slabs 89 and 91 arefirst inserted into conformity with and glued to front face half 93a andfront face half 93b to form an uninterrupted front wall for body section73. The speakers 59 and 61 are then inserted into openings 79 and 81from the rear so that the supporting slabs 99 of the speakers engage therearwardly facing surfaces of the already assembled pillow slabs 89 and91. The

speakers 59 and 61 are thus positioned in pillow body section 73, asshown in FIG. 4, so that their front faces are directed in convergentrelationship toward the record player 17.

After the speakers 59 and 61 have been positioned in their associatedpillow apertures 79 and 81, with suitable conductors connected to eachof the speakers to operate them stereophonically from the dual channelamplifier, the enlarged rear slab 83 of the composite pillow body 57 isthen glued into conformity with the rear of body section 73. Thespeakers 59 and 61 are thereupon contained and ensconced within theirassociated cavities 69 and 71, as shown in FIG. 4, and positioned inslight compression between the assembled front wall of the cavity andrear slab 83.

As previously mentioned, the pillow covering 55 is slightly larger thanand conforms to the external shape of composite stufling body 57. Afterthe speakers 59 and 61 are positioned in the body 57, it is theninserted into the covering 55 by a suitable means, and retained therein,so that the pillow speaker system of my invention may be readilyoperable in conjunction with its associated phonograph unit 11. For thecomplete speaker enclosure 19, the convergently directed front facesthereof (FIG. 1) may beneficially have an included angle of between anddegrees.

To enable the pillow speaker system of phonograph unit 11 to be operablein remote relationship to unit 11, a considerable length of cord isextended from underneath panel 23 of body 15 to the pillow covering 55for stereophonically operating the speaker units 59 and 61.

For enabling the speaker enclosure 19 to be readily yet removablyretained in the recessed cover 13 of the phonograph housing 16, as bestshown in FIG. 6, a pair of special retaining brackets 101 are secured tothe inside of opposed end walls of cover 13. Brackets 101 each include asupporting leaf .103 secured to cover 13, an enlarged retaining flange105 bent over therefrom (as shown in FIG. 6), and a supporting flange107 bent forwardly from flange 105. The purpose of flange 107 shall beset forth hereinafter. The retaining flanges 105 are of such a size thatthe pliable speaker enclosure 19 may be readily flexed to position theforward end seams 108 and 109 (FIG. 1) behind the flanges 105. As shownin FIG. 1, seams 108 and 109 are thereupon disposed substantiallybetween the flanges .105 and the inside of cover 13. Portions of thepillow enclosure 19 are thus held in compression to securely retain thespeaker enclosure 19 well within the recess of cover 13. (See FIG. 4.)

For ready removal of the speaker enclosure 19 from brackets 101, the endwalls of the pillow casing are simply pulled toward each other to removeseams 108 and 109 from behind retaining flanges 105.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 13 of the phonograph unit is pivotallysupported on body 15 by means of detachable hinges 111. Hinges 111 allowcover 13 to pivot approximately 90 degrees between an open position(FIG. 1) and a closed position (FIG. 2).

For limiting the pivotal opening movement of cover 13 of the phonographhousing with respect to body 15 thereof, rods 113 are pivotally linked,as shown in FIG. 6, to the supporting flanges 107 of brackets 101. Rods113 slidably cooperate with appropriate slots formed in panel 23 on thebody 15 to provide the desired limiting effect for movement of cover 13.More particularly, to limit the movement of and retain cover 13 in itsopen position (FIG. 1), hooked ends (not shown) of rods 113 maypositively engage associated edges of the aforementioned slots in panel23.

Turning now to an explanation of the operation and utility of my pillowenclosed stereophonic speaker arrangement, attention is directed to FIG.7. As shown therein, a female person F is seated comfortably on armchair1 15, which is located adjacent to a vertical wall 117 of a room andlistening to a stereo record R which is being played through thephonograph 11. On the top 119 of the rear wall 121 of the armchair 115there is supported a longitudinal bottom 123- of the speaker enclosure19, which has its rearward face leaning against vertical wall 117.

With the pillow enclosure 19 arranged in such a manner, it will beunderstood that the rear of the head of the person F may reposecomfortably at approximately the recessed seam line 95 (FIG. 4) of thepillow body (i.e. adjacent the front of the center part of the pillowenclosure, which part is of minimum thickness). When the head of thelistener F is in this position, her right ear will be closely adjacentone of the two speakers 59 and 6 1 (FIG. 4) and her left ear will beclosed adjacent the other of the speakers 59 and 61 (FIG. 4). As aresult of the proximity of the ears of the listener L to the respectivespeakers, which is due in part to the spacing of the speakers 59 and 61in the pillow body 57, an efficient stereophonic effect is received bythe listener L.

It will also be realized that by mounting the stereophonically adaptedspeakers 59 and 61 in a pillow-type enclosure, a lightweight, portable,and relatively inexpensive speaker enclosure is achieved, which has awide number of ready applications.

With further regard to the shallow V-shaped configuration of the speakerenclosure 19, it will be noted, as shown in FIG. 4, that a cavity 131 isprovided in the recess of cover 13 when the enclosure .19 is positionedtherein. The cavity 131 effects a gradually increasing outwardly facingrecess between the sides of the cover and the center thereof. When thecover 13 of the phonograph unit 11 is closed, the cavity 131 effectivelyserves to accommodate the spindle 28, balancing arm 29, and tone arm 39,therein.

It will now, therefore, be understood that in accordance with thepresent invention I have provided an improved stereophonic soundreproducing loudspeaker arrangement which effectively also functions asa pillow. It will be also realized that my improved loudspeakerenclosure arrangement readily lends itself to expeditious utilization inand complementary relationship with portable phonographs as well as awide variety of other phonograph applications. It shall additionally berealized that the improved loudspeaker device of my invention may bevery economically manufactured.

:While in accordance with the patent statutes, I have described what atpresent is considered to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, itwill be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from my invention,and I, therefore, aim in the following claims to cover all suchequivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A portable phonograph comprising a housing resembling a suitcase,said housing including a body portion for supporting a sound reproducingmechanism and a cover portion cooperable with said body portion, saidcover portion being movable between open and closed positions thereby toopen and close said housing for enabling selective access to said soundreproducing mechanism or protection thereof by said cover portion, saidcover portion having a recess therein facing and overlying said soundreproducing mechanism when said cover portion is in its closed position,a speaker enclosure in the form of a singular portable pillow removablyseated in said recess, said pillow having a body of resilient material,clamping means operatively associated with the pillow and the housingfor removably securing said pillow to the housing so that it may beremoved from the housing for resilient coaction with the body of aperson, and at least one pair of speakers ensconced within said pillow,said speakers being spaced apart and arranged within said pillow so thatthey may provide an effective stereophonic sound effect.

'2. A portable stereophonic phonograph comprising a housing resembling asuitcase, said housing including a body portion for supporting a soundreproducing mechaanism and a cover portion cooperable with said bodyportion, said cover portion being movable between open and closedpositions thereby to open and close said housing for enabling selectiveaccess to said sound reproducing mechanism or protection thereof by saidcover portion, said cover portion having a recess therein facing andoverlying said sound reproducing mechanism when said cover portion is inits closed position, a speaker enclosure in the form of a singularportable pillow removably seated in said recess, said pillow beingusable in conventional fashion for reposure, said pillow comprising abody of resilient material and having a shallow V-shaped crosssectionalrecess at the front thereof thereby to provide a pair of convergentfront faces, and at least one speaker ensconced in and supported by saidpillow and directed toward each one of said front faces, thereby toprovide at least one pair of speakers located in and supported by saidpillow and facing in convergent directions, whereby said pillow servesas both a reposing means and a stereophonic speaker enclosure associatedwith said portable phonograph.

3. The portable stereophonic phonograph of claim 2 wherein a pair ofopposed clamping brackets are secured to opposite side walls of saidcover, said brackets being engageable with adjacent opposed side edgesof said pillow thereby to retain said pillow in said recessed cover.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,855,146 4/1932 Jones 18l31.11,864,615 6 /1932 Quinby 179-14 6 2,000,523 5/ 1935 Knapp 1791822,878,375 3/1959 Schachtel 18131.1 3,135,837 6/1964 Tateishi 18l-3l X3,144,513 8/ 1964 Sherron 179-l 3,156,500 11/1964 Kerr 297391 3,290,45012/1966 Majors 179--146 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,215,356 11/1959 France.1,014,167 8/ '7 Germany.

827,306 2/ 1960 Great Britain.

STEPHEN J. TOMSKY, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

